The European Union is on course to hand dozens of U.K.-based companies a pre-Brexit tax bombshell, according to people familiar with a state-aid probe that could lead to bills exceeding 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion).

A proposed tax on financial transactions in 10 European Union countries could generate about 19.6 billion euros ($23.5 billion) of annual revenue, though Brexit could make collection more difficult, according to a new estimate.

A six-year push to impose a tax on financial transactions in Europe may have run its course, with Germany and France dragging their feet as they prepare for Brexit and a redrawing of the financial map that has already begun.

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